Ohio

6th Circuit Gives Penny ‘Rare Moment in the Spotlight,’ Dismisses Case for Lack of Jurisdiction

The penny is often disrespected. But its critical import is clear in a federal appeals court ruling in an insurance coverage case today. “The amount in controversy in this declaratory judgment action is exactly one penny short of the jurisdictional minimum of the federal courts,” says the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S.…

Feb 4, 2011 8:03 PM CST

6th Circuit Rules Against Ohio Judge’s Modified Ten Commandments Poster

An Ohio judge who hung a new Ten Commandments poster in his courtroom after losing a legal battle over the first didn’t fare any better the second time around. The new Ten Commandments poster displayed by Judge James DeWeese of Richland County had compared the Commandments’ 10 “moral absolutes” with…

Feb 3, 2011 1:07 PM CST

Sought in Murder Manhunt, Armed Georgia Lawyer Flees into Woods, Commits Suicide

Corrected: Named in an arrest warrant after allegedly shooting another man to death on Monday night, trial attorney Richard F. “Richie” Dodelin was at his home in Columbus, Ga., yesterday morning when police came to get him. But he ran out the back door into nearby woods carrying what looked…

Feb 2, 2011 6:47 PM CST

Asbestos Law Firm Seeks Chapter 11 Shield from $4.2M, or Maybe $35M, Claim of Partner’s Widow

Faced with a $4.2 million claim by a deceased name partner’s widow, a Florida-based asbestos law firm has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy seeking respite. Kelley & Ferraro filed in Miami this week, as Lynn Kelley was pursuing a Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas case against the firm in…

Jan 28, 2011 11:20 PM CST

Lawyer Acting as Expert Witness Violated Child Porn Law With Court Exhibits, 6th Circuit Rules

An Ohio lawyer serving as an expert witness appropriately became a defendant in criminal and civil cases when he created child pornography by digitally altering stock photo images of children engaged in innocent activities, a federal appeals court has ruled. A federal district court judge had said that attorney Dean…

Jan 20, 2011 7:50 PM CST

Disbarred Law Grad Can’t Use ‘JD’ After His Name, Judge Rules

A onetime lawyer who was disbarred in 1992 cannot use the initials “JD” after his name because his apparent intent was to convince others that he was a licensed attorney, a federal judge has ruled. Bruce Andrew Brown, a 1984 Columbia Law School graduate, had sued the Ohio Supreme Court…

Jan 20, 2011 12:56 PM CST

Lawyer Says Dropping His Pants Was Educational Rather than Sexual

A lawyer charged with dropping his pants while counseling two 19-year-old men on Friday says he exposed himself as part of a mentoring program to help at-risk youths. Thomas Walkley, a lawyer from Norton, Ohio, has been charged with two misdemeanor counts of public indecency, the Akron Beacon Journal reports.…

Jan 18, 2011 12:22 PM CST

Law Grad with No Plan to Repay Debt Fails Character and Fitness Mandate, Ohio Top Court Says

Ohio State University law grad Hassan Jonathan Griffin of Columbus, Ohio, has a part-time job in the public defender’s office and no feasible plan to repay his law-school and credit-card debt. That combination means Griffin has so far failed to satisfy the character and fitness qualification to get a law…

Jan 13, 2011 3:42 PM CST

Judge Settles $50M Suit Against Website for Linking ‘Lawmiss’ Comments to Her E-Mail

A judge has settled a $50 million lawsuit that claimed an Ohio newspaper and its website should not have reported that her e-mail account was the source of anonymous online comments about a serial murder case she had been assigned. The judge, Shirley Strickland Saffold of Cuyahoga County, dropped her…

Jan 3, 2011 3:10 PM CST

Judge & PDs Chip In to Give Once-Homeless Defendant a Holiday Season Gift: $57 Restitution

In his adjoining chambers, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Timothy McCormick couldn’t help but overhear the confab in a bailiff’s office about a problem facing his colleague, Judge Jose Villanueva. A once-homeless woman was getting her minor Ohio felony record expunged and, as part of the process, Villaneuva was going…

Dec 20, 2010 3:55 PM CST

1st Black Woman Headed to Ohio Supreme Court, Which Will Have 4-3 Female Majority

Born to a teenage single mother in Ohio who worked two jobs to provide for the family, Yvette McGee Brown has soared far above what might have been predicted for her based on where she started in life. McGee Brown earned her law degree at Ohio State University in 1985…

Dec 10, 2010 9:44 PM CST

‘Hyper-Realistic’ Mask Results in Arrest of Wrong Suspect; His Own Mom Was Fooled, Lawman Says

A small California company makes very realistic—and very expensive—masks. But they’re worth it, some criminals have apparently decided, according to the Los Angeles Times. By paying $600 to $1,200 for one of the “hyper-realistic” face coverings, they are able to masquerade persuasively as someone entirely different. In Ohio, a white…

Dec 9, 2010 6:49 PM CST

Cleveland Prosecutor, Cops Sued Over Release of Suspect Later Accused of 11 Murders

A wrongful death suit targets the city of Cleveland, several police officers and an assistant prosecutor for the release of a suspect later accused of killing 11 people. The suit was filed on behalf of five of the victims found in the home of sex offender Anthony Sowell, according to…

Dec 9, 2010 12:33 PM CST

Judges Can Have Facebook Friends, with ‘Constant Vigil,’ Says Ohio Supreme Court Board

An Ohio judge is allowed to have Facebook friends, the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline of the state’s top court held today. But doing so requires “constant vigil,” the board says in its written opinion, because “a judge must maintain dignity in every comment, photograph and other information…

Dec 9, 2010 12:15 AM CST

‘Tis the Season for Holiday Parties—and Booze-Fueled Employee Missteps

At those firms lucky enough to partake in office celebrations this holiday season, employees should be extra vigilant against “alcohol-induced stupidity,” warns one law firm partner. “There are no statistics out there to prove this point, but the traditional office holiday party has to be among the top places where…

Nov 30, 2010 9:27 PM CST